My little Easter man.

My friend Michelle passed on this adorable jumper to Noah a few weeks ago. It is perfect for a little Easter outfit, but as the weather wasn't cooperating, I knew Noah couldn't wear it out yesterday. So I took pictures of him in it instead. It is much harder to get him to sit still for pictures now a days. He either wants to crawl, put something in his mouth, or crawl until he gets to something he can put in his mouth.

{Noah just got his first two teeth on the bottom, and loves to feel them with his lips}

{Have I mentioned that I can't get enough of his blue eyes?}

{Chewing on papa's finger}

Oh man. He's getting way too big, way too fast.

More projects...

It all started with this picture, Christien Meindertma's giant hand knitted poufs. I had to have one. Didn't have over a grand to lay down on buying one, so naturally I looked up how to make my own. Because everyone knows how much time I have, (this is going to be a recurring theme here now, waahwaah). Anyhow, Pickles has a free pattern for many many things knit and crocheted. I've added a couple more projects for when I become a master knitter:

The Plain Vest for Ashley's baby, Finley.

...and the Sunny Cardigan for me!

Wednesday, April 20th

Happy birthday to my beautiful mom. You have taught me so much and are such a source of joy in my life.

On that note, isn't it amazing how you realize HOW MUCH you are loved when you become a parent yourself? I mean it is astronomical!

Talking on the phone with my mum today, I asked about what foods she started us off on. I've been letting Noah gnaw on cold carrots lately to ease some teething pain and expose him to new tastes. She said that we all loved steamed broccoli, so I tried it out tonight and took a video. I'll get that up as soon as I have a chance.

And by when I have a chance, I means possibly never. At least that's how it feels right now.

Noah and Rudy

I LOVE these guys.
Is it just me, or is Noah all of a sudden a little man?!

Noah and the skate park.

This post could also be called, "Columbus skips spring and dives right into summer". It was hot and humid yesterday, so we packed up the family and went to the skate park. Here's the story in photos:

We...

...basked in the sun.

...hung out with Gatsby.

...watched dad skateboard.

...went for a walk around the park.

...sat around with no pants on (Okay, only Noah did this one).

...and after a little snack...

...fell asleep on the way home.

Blue Rock Station

Yesterday my friend / old next door neighbor, Jessica, and I went to Blue Rock Station, a closed system Earthship made out of recycled materials. Jess invited me to go a few weeks ago for a class on raised bed gardening. I have never grown anything in my life, so the "class" was very enlightening, and I went home with plenty of heirloom seeds to start out with.

The process of growing food has always seemed very daunting to me. I decided that instead of getting overwhelmed by it, I would just become a master at one thing every year. This year it will be tomatoes, I've heard they are easy to grow.

Here are some pictures of our little outing. Noah had a good time checking out everything on the farm and was admired by all. Although I didn't get any shots of the inside of the house, I can assure you it was very cozy and beautiful. Although this way of life may seem extreme to some, it actually felt very easy and enlivening.

{Noah in front of the plastic bottle green house which grows plants all through the freezing Ohio winter}

{Mr. Llama, I guess that llama poo is the best fertilizer around}

{Thomas and his hens roaming the grounds}

{Noah meeting a hen, who put up with him grabbing her face and trying to eat it / cool art}

{A couple of kitties were always on patrol}

{Rosie the dog and the rest of the ladies doing some gardening}

Spring? Is that you?

Last weekend it was nice out so we went to the skate park. Noah is working on his building blocks of crawling, and can push himself up quite well now.

We also reached a milestone last week! Noah now sits up in his very own highchair. This has proved to be useful for Rudy and I when it comes to eating meals. We can pull him close to the table and he's content to watch us and play with a toy or two.

Half and half prints.

I was invited by a friend of mine to submit a poster design for Pinch Flat Columbus, an art show celebrating biking in our city. I submitted my entry last week and got the go ahead to get it printed for the event this morning!

I'm going to have it printed by Half and Half, a screen printing company. After looking at their website, I headed over to their etsy shop, where Rudy and I decided to buy the print below for our kitchen. I mean $15, come on! I also really like the poster above but don't have a place for it in our house right now.

I'll share my poster with you once it goes up at the show in May. Since I'll only be selling 30 prints at Pinch Flat and having 100 printed, I'll be selling them on Octopus Cap's etsy page once the show is over.

I can't wait to show you!

Belly Laughs

A sunny day ... finally.

This week has been so cold, gray and rainy. That plus not getting very regular sleep really put me in a funk for the past few days. One of the practices I am trying to focus on for Lent is embracing winter while looking forward to spring. Death and rebirth is what this is about right? Living in Columbus has really made me see how the world comes alive again in the spring. What a beautiful illustration God has given us to live and feel.

Though I didn't do a great job of recognizing it this week, I must say that it is nice at times to stay inside with my perfect snuggly baby. Some of the sweetest times have been just laying on the couch reading while he sleeps on my chest.

I mentioned that I gave up facebook for Lent. But I also gave up reading my daily blogs. I spend just as much time, if not more, scrolling through them as facebook. I'm happy to say that this commitment hasn't been very hard for me, and I find myself doing much more useful things in my spare time. This week I've read the bible, crocheted a baby cap and started a new book, The Reason for God.

Happy sunny Saturday to all of you.

So much to do and say.

{Photo from here}

I feel like there are so many things I'd like to write about here... life with baby, breastfeeding, coping with baby's sleep issues, trying to embrace winter while looking forward to spring, crafts, art... not to mention get our birth story written down. But there always seem to be precisely a million things pulling me in all directions when Noah is finally asleep.

One of those things is mindlessly scrolling through my facebook feed. It seems so dumb, but it takes so much of my time. I could honestly care less about most of it, but it's like a compulsion at this point. So I think I'll let go of it for lent, then cut back pretty heavily afterward. More on lent to come when I have a chance, (probably after it's over!).

Now I'm off to clean the kitchen a bit in the last feeble minutes of Noah's latest nap.

The Big 25.

{Noah having fun with wrapping paper}

The Friday before last, I turned 25. I know, a quarter of a century! I decided to throw myself a little get together at our place and invited all of the wonderful friends we've made since moving to Columbus. I must say it is pretty amazing to me that we just showed up here a year and a half ago, and already we've got enough people we love to fill a house. The Lord is good. That's all I can say about that.

I made a bunch of carrot cake cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, covered our work tables with kraft paper and put out some crayons. The kids at the party loved it...

I bought myself a birthday shirt and found the red pencil skirt while thrifting. It fits like a glove.

{Evey, Auggie and Noah looking cute}

{Olive, Aaron and Noah}